Ch.181Star

Despite their serious injuries, they were knights of the Blue Wing. The young party was able to easily subdue their enemies.

“Wow… aren’t these all corpses?”

A sigh-mixed voice flowed from Theo’s mouth. As he said, what was piled on the cart were human corpses. There were no signs of decay, and occasionally cold blood flowed from the bodies as they moved.

It meant they had all died not long ago.

Unpleasantness.

Seo-rin felt beyond unpleasantness to disgust. It was because seeing the bodies collapsed in layers reminded her of a certain scene. The unforgettable sight of her tribe’s destruction, an event engraved on her very soul, belatedly came to mind.

“Hmm…”

She closed her eyes and folded her arms. As her emotions surged during the process of organizing the suddenly emerging memories, wind rippled around Seo-rin. It was just temporary amnesia. Among the emerging memories, it wasn’t difficult to find those that were truly her own.

However, she just needed a little more time to become complete.

‘But this is strange… I feel like my eye level was much higher back then…’

She felt a slight disconnect in her memories. While Seo-rin tilted her head in confusion, she lightly swung the sword in her hand. The slash that began with a light gesture completely took the life of a man who was writhing on the ground.

“May you all rest in peace…”

There wasn’t much Seo-rin’s party could do for the victims. Burying the bodies in a sunny spot was the best they could do. Afterward, Seo-rin’s party boarded the cart.

Driving the cart was Theo’s responsibility. Coming from a mountain village, Theo was very good at handling horses and donkeys, so he could quickly manage the horse connected to the cart as well.

The cart carrying Seo-rin’s party began to move, neither slowly nor quickly. On the bumpy cart, Seo-rin and Flora closed their eyes. Though it was a cargo cart reeking of blood with poor riding comfort, physical fatigue made them forget all those discomforts.

Theo and Seo-rin fell asleep instantly.

“Ugh…”

Theo, sitting at the front and responsible for driving the cart, was miserable. He would have liked to get some sleep, but he couldn’t show weakness in front of the person he liked.

Through the verdant forest, a cart emanating the smell of blood quietly moved forward.

***

Clunk-

The old cart created bumping sounds as it crossed the vast plain.

During their journey, the three focused on physical recovery. More than half of each day was spent sleeping, and they consumed whatever food they could find around them without being picky.

Roots, bitter tree fruits, and sometimes even insects.

Despite having money, they couldn’t buy food.

The entire continent had suffered from war. Even though the war had ended, its aftermath remained as a huge wound, making people’s minds sick.

The kindness of offering a corner of one’s home to strangers had disappeared. Being extremely wary of others became normal, and looting and murder occurred frequently.

Late evening.

Seo-rin’s party stopped on the vast plain and prepared to camp outdoors. Though they wanted to travel day and night, the horse pulling the cart also needed rest, so they had to sleep at night.

Preparing for camping didn’t take long. They dug the ground, cut dry grass to lay on the bottom. Using rocks or wood found nearby as pillars and covering them with wide cloth completed a fairly decent bed.

Seo-rin took the first watch.

She sat in front of the burning campfire, blankly looking up at the sky. Above the vast night sky, countless stars were twinkling.

Crackle-

As her mind became hazy, her physical senses became extremely sensitive. Occasionally, Seo-rin would fall into a strange sensation while looking up at the night sky. Today was no different. Seo-rin spent time in that dazed state.

[…]

Through the faint night breeze, something seemed to whisper. It wasn’t a sound made by the wind. Nor was it the sound of beasts or insects. A little more, a little more.

Seo-rin naturally focused on the sound that came to her.

At some point, Seo-rin realized she was standing in a strange place. Her physical senses were extremely sensitive, and her mind was no longer in the hazy state as before.

She breathed, looked around, and became aware of her condition.

“Where is…”

Neither the vast plain, nor the campsite made with friends, nor the appearance of her friends could be seen. All that was visible were black clouds stretched so long that their ends couldn’t be guessed, and golden threads twinkling between them.

Seo-rin began to walk.

It was strange. Despite being in an unfamiliar place, she wasn’t anxious at all. Despite not seeing her friends, she wasn’t worried. Was this a well-crafted dream? Seo-rin walked through the soft clouds and absently reached out her hand.

The golden thread that had been shimmering before her eyes naturally wrapped around her hand. At that moment, the life of a woman flashed very quickly before Seo-rin’s eyes. It was a somehow familiar sensation. It seemed as if she had experienced this several times before.

Seo-rin unknowingly moved toward the numerous threads.

As she followed the threads, the surroundings became filled with them. The black clouds disappeared, and everything around was filled with golden light.

After walking for a while.

Seo-rin could discover a huge being crouching among the golden threads. A dragon… shining with golden light all over its body.

Dragon.

The memories of many beings in her mind conveyed information about dragons. But Seo-rin didn’t focus on those memories. She blankly opened her mouth and reached out her hand.

Because it felt somehow familiar, because it felt somehow friendly.

At that moment.

The dragon opened its eyes.

In its large pupils was the warmest affection. It was at that moment. In the middle of the sea of countless memories, a shining line wrapped around Seo-rin.

Forgotten memories emerged, instantly filling the holes in each part.

“Seiran.”

[It’s been a while.]

From the mouth of the huge dragon, a delicate girl’s voice flowed out. It seemed very amusing. Seo-rin unknowingly burst into a small laugh.

“You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you.”

[I was always big.]

“Well… was running away fun?”

[Not really…]

“Let’s go back.”

Seo-rin reached out her hand toward the huge dragon, her younger sister. But Seiran didn’t move. She just blinked her large eyes while crouching her enormous body as much as possible.

“Seiran.”

[You go ahead. I’ll come later.]

“Seiran.”

[I can’t move right now.]

Seo-rin could vaguely understand what her sister meant. The two had been connected by soul for a long time. Without any special conversation, they could understand each other’s thoughts and hearts.

Seiran couldn’t move. To substitute for the broken fate, the will of the stopped world, she had wrapped the threads of fate around her body. She was sacrificing everything to forcibly lead the stopped story.

It was just a temporary measure. Her efforts could only buy a very little time. She couldn’t completely stop the countdown to destruction.

“This is not a burden you should bear.”

[But if I don’t do this, everything you love will disappear.]

“Come here.”

[No.]

“All my efforts were for you.”

[My efforts are the same…]

Seo-rin sighed and reached out her hand. Right after that. From the bundle of threads far away, a golden sword was drawn out and flew to Seo-rin’s hand. A sword with no visible blade.

Muramasa.

“Without you, nothing matters.”

Seo-rin swung the sword without any hesitation. An invisible slash passed through the sky, cutting the golden threads.

***

Through the dark space, a huge being appeared. The being, whose entire body was filled with starlight, spread its wings and freely flew through the space called the universe. It was then.

The large gaze recognized a small star.

A star with a dull light. A star whose life was over, heading toward death to end the predetermined story. But a strange connection was felt.

The huge being tilted its head. It was a star it had visited before. But a strange flow different from before was felt.

Interest arose. The huge being reached out its arm. The moment the hand full of brilliant starlight wrapped around the star. A huge light burst from the star that was becoming dull.

Flash-!

The pouring light was sucked into the small star. Along with that light, the huge being was also sucked into the star. It was the moment when the traveler of worlds, the Starlight Dragon, disappeared.